Nigeria’s outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor, has revealed that the nation spent $8 billion to restore peace in Liberia.
Irabor said this in his keynote remark at the event marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Irabor said: “It is noteworthy that in addition to the loss of lives and injuries to personnel, the ECOMOG, a regional interventionist mediation force advocated to end the protracted Liberian civil war, was operated at an estimated cost of USD 8 billion to the Nigerian government.”
Irabor traced the history and contributions of Nigeria to peacekeeping operations to 1960 when the country’s armed forces were sent to the Congo.
“Since the first engagement of troops of our Armed Forces in the Congo in 1960, Nigeria has been unequivocally committed to the principles and objectives of the United Nations. It has significantly contributed to 41 peacekeeping operations worldwide.
“Ever since over 200,000 Nigerian troops have served in UN peacekeeping missions worldwide and Nigerian senior military officers have commanded some of these missions.